CNC demands Codavaland autonomy

Madikeri: Intensifying its campaign for geopolitical self-determination, the Codava National Council (CNC) organised its fifth peaceful human chain demonstration in Cherambane, Kodagu, reasserting its demand for an autonomous Codavaland under Article 244, Article 371, and the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Addressing community members during the demonstration, CNC President N.U. Nachappa Codava stated that Codava self-rule is an inalienable, indigenous right rooted in both geography and history. A people without geography are a people without history, and people without history are people without geography, Nachappa remarked during his address, adding that Codavas possess both.

He reiterated that Codavaland represents more than a regional map, calling it a living homeland defined by ancestral Ballaymane estates, sacred Mandh groves, heritage sites like Talacauvery, and traditional customs including martial folklore, ancestral worship, and sacramental weapons culture. He argued that separating the indigenous population from their ancestral territory would reduce historical heritage to mere real estate. Framing the movement within national and international legal standards, the CNC chief highlighted several constitutional guarantees, including Articles 29 and 30 that safeguard minority language and heritage, and Article 14 provisions for reasonable classification based on ethno-linguistic identity, as upheld by the Karnataka High Court.

He also cited the spirit of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules, which historically protected traditional land tenure systems like Muttadari, Jamma, and Bane under the Scheduled Districts Act of 1874, while asserting that the traditional possession of the Gun-Thok firearm is a spiritual sacrament protected under Articles 25 and 26, akin to the Sikh Kirpan. Rejecting majoritarian dominance, Nachappa stated that political autonomy for a distinct micro-community does not require a regional majority plebiscite, but rather proof of unique indigenous lineage and historical character before constitutional authorities. Modelling their governance proposal on the Darjeeling Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the Hill Tract Agencies of Andhra Pradesh, the CNC urged central authorities to grant self-governance to protect the micro-community from demographic assimilation and preserve its cultural identity. (eom)

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